quinquereme - definition of quinquereme in English | Oxford Dictionaries Definition of quinquereme in English: quinquereme noun An ancient Roman or Greek galley of a kind believed to have had three banks of oars, the oars in the top two banks being rowed by pairs of oarsmen and the oars in the bottom bank being rowed by single oarsmen. Example sentences ‘He applied mind to warfare, introducing artillery, Phoenician siege-technique, and the quinquereme.’ ‘There is a great deal of useful material here, such as how the Romans seem to have conducted an ‘amphibious assault ‘and the frequency that each type of warship (quinqueremes, biremes, liburinians, etc.) was found in the Roman fleets.’’ ‘He directed his main attack on the Northern ‘Little Harbour’, deploying 60 quinqueremes for a naval assault.’ Origin Mid 16th century: from Latin quinqueremis, from quinque five + remus oar. Pronunciation: Matching verbs to collective nouns Which of these sentences is correct? The band is the best singers I've ever heard.

The band are the best singers I've ever heard. Which of these sentences is correct? More people are shopping online. More people is shopping online. Which of these sentences is correct? My group is in the lead. My group are in the lead. Which of these sentences is correct? The panel conducts interviews in private. The panel conduct interviews in private. Which of these sentences is correct? The pride of lions is at home in the savannah. The pride of lions are at home in the savannah. Which of these sentences is correct? The crowd is growing as more people arrive. The crowd are growing as more people arrive. Which of these sentences is correct? We believe the jury have reached their verdict. We believe the jury has reached their verdict. Which of these sentences is correct? The herd is out in the field. The herd are out in the field. Which of these sentences is correct? Have these bananas if that bunch isn't ripe. Have these bananas if that bunch aren't ripe. Which of these sentences is correct? The police is appealing for witnesses. The police are appealing for witnesses. You scored /10 practise again?

Retry Most popular in the world Australia Quinqueremes - definition of Quinqueremes by The Free Dictionary Quinqueremes - definition of Quinqueremes by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . quinquereme 1. (Historical Terms) an ancient Roman galley with five banks of oars on each side 2. (Nautical Terms) an ancient Roman galley with five banks of oars on each side [C16: from Latin quinquerēmis, from quinque- + rēmus oar] Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: boat References in periodicals archive ? When the time came for his men to row like hell out of the Gulf of Ambracia and ram Caesar's ships with their bronze-plated quinqueremes, they were too sick and hungry to do much damage.

Cleopatra and Antony So, on day one of the cruise--on ten-day cruises the first day is spent getting on the ship and the last day getting off--my wife and I arrived at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport, ready to follow the footsteps of the Roman legions that built the Roman Empire, and sail the seas that Roman quinqueremes once sailed. Quinquereme | Define Quinquereme at Dictionary.com quinquereme an ancient Roman galley with five banks of oars on each side Word Origin C16: from Latin quinquerēmis, from quinque- + rēmus oar Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Examples from the Web for quinquereme Expand Ulric the Jarl William O.

Stoddard No change was made, therefore, in the handling of the quinquereme. Ulric the Jarl William O. Stoddard They themselves must die, but it was their duty to prevent the departure from the quinquereme of any prisoners. Ulric the Jarl William O. Stoddard A hundred more were hurled from The Sword at the Romans on the decks of the quinquereme. Ulric the Jarl William O. Stoddard The Sword was not receding, but her rowers were pulling easily as Wulf the Skater steered her around and past the quinquereme. Ulric the Jarl William O. Stoddard On the stern of the quinquereme stood three men who were not in armor. Ulric the Jarl William O. Stoddard We hear then of their copying a quinquereme which had fallen into their hands by accident. Boating W. B. Woodgate Ulric the Jarl William O. Stoddard As the lightning from a clear sky, so was the deathblow given to the pride and strength of the quinquereme. Ulric the Jarl William O.

Stoddard A trireme may be said to have had one hundred and seventy oars, a quinquereme three hundred, and even four hundred. Roman Culture/Roman Navy Ships - Wikibooks, open books for an open world Roman Culture/Roman Navy Ships Jump to: navigation , search The war at sea in the classical era was all about well trained crews rowing their ships into enemy formations and either ramming them head on, or pulling in your own oars and sliding along the side of an enemy breaking all of its oars so they could no longer maneuver. Ships were equipped with a large bronze ram with three flat prongs under water at the bow. Oarsmen were below decks, and could propel the ship at up to fourteen knots, about seventeen miles per hour, the same speed as an average eighteenth century all sail warship.[1] There was a partial deck on top for a few sailors and marines to stand on and the aft part of the ship where the commander and helmsman were was shaded with an awning. During the Hellenistic period ships got bigger, the successor kingdoms to Alexander were wealthy beyond the imagination of an early city state dweller.

They built larger and larger ships in a naval race intended not for supremacy at sea, but for prestige. Larger ships were less maneuverable, but could hold more men and even large projectile weapons. This caused naval tactics to revert from speed, maneuverability, and ramming to disable an enemy to firing at them from a distance then boarding. When the Senate decided on a course of massive naval expansion they had to decide what types of ships to build. There were six practical types available, and many variations on those different classes. The maximum numbers of ships a state could muster, man, maintain, afford, and coordinate in battle; in the ancient world was most likely three hundred. It is probable that Carthage had that many ships. Ships were classed based on how many oarsmen were stationed on a vertical bank of oars. Ships would have up to fifty oars per side in numerous horizontal rows. The prefix in the name refers to the number of oarsmen in a vertical set of oars followed by the suffix oar. [2] The first and smallest type of ship available to the Romans was the hemiolia. This ship had a single row of oars.

It was light and fast and its narrow draft and high speed made it well suited for commerce raiding, troop transportation, and littoral combat, especially in rivers. Slightly larger was the liburnian, a type of bireme with two banks of oars on each side ideal for scouting. It would become the mainstay of the Roman Imperial Navy, but had little use in large fleet engagements. [3] Next is the tried and true trireme, mainstay of the classical fleets of Greece. The most is know of this class, largely because one was reconstructed in the 1980’s. Their shallow draft and high length to beam ratio, combined with their three hundred rowers made these ships capable of great speed and maneuverability. They are lightly built and cannot carry many additional troops and like most ships of this period are not able to venture too far out from the coast. They are too narrow and shallow drafted to handle moderate waves. [4] The quadrireme was smaller and slower than the trireme but it was more versatile. It had two banks of oars on each side and each oar had two men on it. This required a wider ship.

The wider the ship the more stable she could be as a fighting platform and the more she could carry in terms of men and heavy weapons. With two men per oar the rowers did not have to be as experienced. They and the ships larger than them also could have had towers for archers to shoot down on enemies from. The mainstay of Roman and Carthaginian naval power was the quinquereme. These were heavy, slightly more seaworthy ships. The exact way their oars and oarsmen were arranged has yet to be determined but whatever the case these ships were wider than any of the others so far and could carry about one hundred marines. Hexaremes were the largest ships in the Western Mediterranean, usually reserved as fleet flagships. They are believed to have been wider, heavier versions of triremes with two men per oar instead of one. There were also larger ships called polyremes in the east with as many as forty rowers per vertical set of oars. These monsters were impractical to sail and were probably never used in battle. They were nothing more than a source of prestige for their owners.

[5] EDIT: 12-10-11 Rojen: scanned for spelling and plagiarism [1] J. S. Morrison, J. F. Coates, and N. B. Rankov, The Athenian Trireme (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 258. [2] Cecil Torr, Ancient Ships (Chicago: Argonaught Inc. Publishers, 1964) 9-13. [3] Cecil Torr, Ancient Ships (Chicago: Argonaught Inc. Publishers, 1964) 54. [4] J. S. Morrison, J. F. Coates, and N. B. Rankov, The Athenian Trireme (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 128. [5] Cecil Torr Ancient Ships (Chicago: Argonaught Inc. Publishers, 1964) 55-57. Greek Triremes vs. Roman Quinqueremes Roman Quinqueremes vs. Greek Trireme Warships have ignited the imagination of countless ages and innumerable authors.

Few actually know the history of the warship, though. Purpose built warships originated in ancient Greece and Rome, two great Mediterranean powers. They both had invariably different navies, though. The construction of their warships were of different materials and had different needs and qualifications. They both had different methods to get their ships on the move. Finally, their ships performed quite differently in battle. The Roman navy�s quinqueremes were far superior ships in many aspects than Greek, mainly Athenian, triremes. The construction and requirements of a Greek trireme differed from that of a Roman quinquereme. The materials used by both ancient cultures to build their ships were different. Roman ships were built out of cedar, a durable, red-coloured wood. Greek ships were constructed from lightweight, soft fir trees. The two navies also had their own ideas for ship weight, as well. Roman ships were heavy and could not be blown off course easily, should the ship be presented with unfavourable weather .

Greek ships were, as Kenny McMahon put it; "� rather light and [was] blown off course when high winds arose."(Ancient Greek Methods of Boating and Sailing, Internet source) The requirements of a Roman quinquereme were somewhat different compared to the expectations of a trireme, too. Romans were not at all seafarers, and would have been devastated by the Carthaginian Empire�s navy in the First Punic War, had they not made use of their land battle experience at sea. Carthaginian captains preferred to ram enemy ships, a standard naval tactic until the event of naval artillery, so Rome countered their seafaring advantage with the �corvus�, a gangplank that effectively turned a sea battle into a land battle with a boarding party of soldiers. A Greek trireme was created solely to be a "..floating battering ram[s]"(Kentley, 20). This also has much to do with the trireme design. Stephan Schulz stated that "[Then,] around 800 BC, the ram (a bronze tipped projection from the bow (front) of the ship) was developed as a ship-to-ship weapon.

Suddenly, speed and maneuverability became prime concerns." (Ancient Galleys, Internet source) Although heavier, Roman ships were constructed with far better protective wood than Greek ships, and they would suffer less of a navigational crisis in the unfortunate event of a storm due tom their weight. Roman ships were also designed to make use of soldiers, but could also ram enemy ships, like the expert seafarers of the Greek navy. Although the construction and the requirements of Roman and Greek ships differed, one thing was similar: both quinqueremes and triremes were propelled by oars. Both navies had different ideas on how the use of the ships oars should be orchestrated, though. The Greeks decided that the best way to get a ship on the move was with three rows of highly trained men sitting on three tiers of different levels, hence �trireme� or in Latin, �trieres�, for the three tiers. The advantage to this was the high speeds that could be achieved.

The disadvantage was that every man had to be highly trained, which required money to train and then pay for the oarsmen, and if one rower got out of synchronization with the others, the oars would become fouled upon each other and it would take minutes to untangle. The Roman approach to ship movement was: "just give me a ship good enough to do the job." (Parts of a Roman Warship, Internet source) The Romans had many banks of oars, each oar propelled by five men, most likely slaves, "�encouraged no doubt by the whip."(Woodman, 20) This eliminated the cost of training and paying oarsmen, and made the efforts of one man much less important. Unfortunately, "� the bigger the ship was, the greater the effort needed to move it." (Pearsall, 10) Propelling Greek and Roman warships was a somewhat similar task, even if they had different ways of arranging the oars, although the Roman quinquereme had a more cost effective and efficient oar arrangement. Construction and speed were important, but Romans and Greeks used different battle tactics, and their ships revolved around these ideals.

The Greeks were formidable seafarers, and they had successfully achieved many victories, such as the infamous battle of Salamis in 480 BC. This was against and invading Persian force, which was one of three attempts of invasion thwarted by the Greeks. The Greeks took advantage of their seafaring skills to use the ram. It would punch a hole in an enemy ship below the waterline and sink it. This tactic was known as �diekplous� (break formation and ram!) So effective was the trireme at this that Stephan Schulz stated: "The trireme was probably the most formidable ship ever designed for fighting with a ram."(Ancient Galleys, Internet source) Romans, on the other hand, were poor seafarers but expert soldiers. They took advantage of this by adapting the Carthaginian navy�s design of the quinquereme, a large, broad-beamed ship, and cramming it with soldiers. The idea was to use the soldiers to swarm aboard the enemy ship and massacre its crew. To get the soldiers across, the corvus, or �raven� was developed.

It was basically a large gangplank with an iron spike at the end which dug into the enemy ship�s deck and allowed safe crossing, without the enemy ship escaping. Both Roman and Greek tactics were effective, but Greek tactics were mainly ship oriented, as their ships only carried about 15 hoplites, while Roman ships carried a boarding party of about 120 soldiers. The Roman navy�s quinqueremes were much more superior warships than the Greek, mainly Athenian, navy�s trireme. The construction of Roman ships was of better material than Greek ships. The arrangement of the oars on Roman ships were much more cost effective and efficient. In battle, Romans achieved victory with much more efficiency than Greeks, preserving the enemy ship as a prize. In the end, though, a ship is still a ship. As John Ruskin once said: "Take it all in all, a ship is the most honourable thing a man has ever produced." (Woodman, 4) Cog and Galley: QUINQUEREMES AND HEAVIER WAR GALLEYS Early merchant and diverse other vessels - Naval warfare and warships - Ancient and Medieval - Mediterranean and Indian Ocean - Atlantic and Pacific.

Monday, February 9, 2009 QUINQUEREMES AND HEAVIER WAR GALLEYS The word trireme (Greek trieres) is usually taken to mean a war galley with three banks of oars, superimposed one above another. Representations of galleys with two and three banks of oars have survived; in the fifth century, Athenian rowers were divided into thranitai, zygitai, and thalamitai, according to the tier in which they rowed. The thranitai, who pulled at the longest oars, sometimes received extra pay, as happened at the outset of the Athenian expedition against Syracuse in 415 BC. However, the word trieres contains no allusion to banks of oars; its original meaning may simply have been “triply-furnished”. After the end of the Peloponnesian War, quadriremes and quinqueremes came into general use. Both are mentioned by Arrian in his description of Alexander’s operations at Tyre. In later history, we hear of “ten-furnished”, “twenty-furnished” and even “forty-furnished” galleys.

Unless one contemplates a floating skyscraper, it is impossible to suppose that these numbers denoted superimposed banks of oars. The allusions to “forty-furnished” ships are particularly unconvincing; we may perhaps discount them altogether, but a problem still remains. In a trireme, the rowing benches furnished for anyone triplet of rowers were probably staggered in the fore and aft dimension as well as in cross-section, so that opposite numbers in the upper tiers did not sit directly over the heads of those below. However, even granted such an arrangement, we cannot attribute five banks of oars to a quinquereme without arriving at a top heavy hull. The deployment of the oars themselves would in any case have been complicated and would have presented other problems. Modern scholars, therefore, usually draw the conclusion that a quinquereme was a galley which seated five rowers at one oar, or which shared two or three oars among five rowers. Perhaps the larger denominations take into account rowers on each side of the ship or rowers seated facing each other over a single oar.

Those- who make conjectures rely on the analogy of Venetian galleys in medieval and Renaissance times, where practice is known to have varied considerably. One thing seems clear: the ancient classification of war galleys cannot have been consistently by reference to banks of oars. There is a further implication. If Greek galleys were classified by reference to rowers and not to oars, a single-banked galley furnished with benches for three rowers at each oar should still have qualified for description as a trireme, or triple-furnished ship. The slant of the oars would have meant that the rowers still sat in tiers; those on the inside would still have had the heaviest work, so that the tiers might still have been differentiated as thranitai, zygitai and thalamitai. There is no evidence that this was or was not so. It simply follows logically from what seem necessary assumptions. On the other hand, it is possible that the ancients were not consistent in their use of terms. By the word for a trireme, they may always have meant a galley with three oar banks, even though a quinquereme was not a galley with five oar banks.

Whatever we decide about the quadriremes and quinqueremes that figured so prominently in the navies of Alexander’s Successors, they were bigger and heavier boats; rowed by more men and larger oars. The trireme had been used in battle for ramming or attacking enemy oars and steering gear. It had also served as a platform from which missiles or boarding parties could be launched. The vessels of the late fourth century could in addition carry heavy siege engines on their fore-decks and were capable of towing horse-transport craft. Demetrius’ navy even featured “fifteen-furnished” and “sixteen furnished” galleys. They were highly spectacular and no doubt had great propaganda value, but do not seem to have been in general use. For many purposes, Demetrius, like any other admiral, was obliged to rely on light, undecked ships, including a “one-and a-half” type of vessel (more literally translated, “a three-halver”). Whether this was supplied with one and a half banks of oars or one and half tiers of rowers remains open to conjecture.

Posted by Quinquereme - definition of quinquereme by The Free Dictionary Quinquereme - definition of quinquereme by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . quinquereme 1. (Historical Terms) an ancient Roman galley with five banks of oars on each side 2. (Nautical Terms) an ancient Roman galley with five banks of oars on each side [C16: from Latin quinquerēmis, from quinque- + rēmus oar] Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: References in periodicals archive ? laundry, mauve, narcissus, obloquy, quinquereme, resume, sputum, underlay, varicosa, whelk, yarmulke or zabaglione. Copyright © 2003-2017 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only.

This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. BBC - Primary History - Ancient Greeks - Sea and ships Sea and ships How did Greeks fight at sea? Greek ships Greek ships had sails, and were pushed along by the wind. Small trading ships usually stayed close to the shore, so the sailors did not get lost. Before a voyage, the sailors prayed to the sea god Poseidon, for a safe journey. Greek warships had oars as well as sails. The largest warships had three banks of oars and were called triremes . A trireme needed 170 men to row it - one man to each oar. It had a long narrow deck that soldiers could run along and fight from. The oarsmen sat underneath the deck. Archaeologists have measured the remains of ship-sheds where Greek ships were built, to work out how big they were. A trireme was about 35 m/115 ft long. Back to top Ships on Land The narrow piece of land that joins the southernmost part of Greece to the mainland is the Isthmus of Corinth .

Periander, ruler of the city-state of Corinth, built a stone track across the isthmus, so ships could be dragged overland. Hundreds of slaves made the track. Corinth became rich by charging ship-owners to send their ships on the overland short-cut. It was much quicker than sailing all the way around the coast. Have a look at the maps to see why. Today there is an easier way to cross the isthmus. Ships pass through the Corinth Canal. It is not very long, but has very high sides. Back to top Colonies and pirates The Greeks used their ships to sail off and found colonies. One colony called Massalia (Marseille), in what is now France, was founded around 600 BC. The Greeks who landed here were called Phokaians. Their 50-oared ships were the fastest ships in the Mediterranean. It was useful to have a fast ship, because there were lots of pirates ! If pirates caught a trading ship, they would steal the cargo (which might be wine or copper or gold). They would sell the crew and passengers as slaves .

Back to top The Battle of Salamis The greatest sea battle in Greek history was at Salamis (an island not far from Athens ). It was fought in 480 BC between the Greeks and the Persians . A large Persian fleet of about 500 ships sailed into a narrow strait at Salamis. The Persian king Xerxes watched from a throne set up on the shore, expecting an easy victory. However, the Persians got trapped in narrow channels, and they were attacked by about 380 Greek ships. 200 Persian ships were sunk or damaged, and hundreds of Persians were killed. It was a great victory for the Greeks. Back to top How did Greeks fight at sea? In a battle, the triremes tried to get close to the enemy ships and if possible crash into them. A trireme was steered by long steering oars at the stern or back of the ship. The captain ordered the ship to steer straight at an enemy ship. Fixed to the front of the trireme was a sharp metal-covered point or ram . When the trireme struck the side of an enemy ship, the ram smashed a hole in the wooden planks.

Water flooded in and the damaged ship either sank or had to be beached on the nearest shore. The trireme's soldiers sometimes jumped onto a damaged ship and captured it. Triremes were faster than sails-only ships, with a battle-speed in calm sea of about 10 km/h. Triremes were not so good in rough seas though. Before rowing out to battle, a trireme's crew dumped much of the gear on shore - including the sail. This saved weight so the ship went faster. Trireme rowers were not slaves (unlike the rowers in a Roman warship). They were free citizens. A replica trireme was built to test historians' ideas about how Greek ships were built and sailed. It's called Olympias. For anchors, Greeks sailors used heavy stones with a hole in for a rope. Later, they invented the modern shaped anchor. A few Greek trading ships may have had rams too - to give pirates a nasty surprise! Greek ships had an "all-seeing eye" painted on the front or prow. The sailors believed the magic eye would guide them safely home to port. The most famous Greek sailor was Jason. His ship was the Argo, and his crew were called the Argonauts.

They had exciting adventures looking for a magic sheepskin called the Golden Fleece. An Ancient Greek shipwreck found off Turkey was carrying 10 tons of copper from Cyprus. Divers also found writing tablets, bronze daggers and an ivory trumpet. A Greek sailor named Pytheas is said to have explored the coast of Britain. Ancient Greeks sometimes exaggerated. At Salamis, they said the Persians had over 1000 ships! BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. [AB-buh-KUS} Beads on a wire or wood frame used for counting and doing sums. Acropolis [a-CROP-olis] The Acropolis is a large hill in the centre of Athens.

On top of it were many temples and other buildings, the remains of which can still be seen today archaeologist Expert in studying the past from remains left by people. archer Person who used a bow and arrow. architect A person who designs buildings. Aristophanes [aris-TOF-a-neez] Lived from about 450 to 385 BC. He wrote comedy plays comedies for the theatre in Athens. Aristotle [aris-TOT-ull] Lived from 384 to 322 BC. A scientist and philosopher. artefact Anything made by people. Artefacts found by archaeologists include broken pottery, bits of wood and metal, brick and stone. Athena The patron goddess of Athens, and goddess of wisdom. A huge statue of Athena stood inside the Parthenon in Athens. Athens The capital city of modern Greece. In ancient times Athens was a powerful city-state with its own government, laws, army and navy. Attica [A-tik-a] The region around Athens. cavalry Soldiers riding on horses. centaur Mythical creature with a horse's lower body and legs, but the chest, arms and head of a man.

Centaurs were wild and unruly, but one named Chiron was wise and skilled in healing. citizen In Athens a citizen was a person with the right to take part in the assembly, serve on juries and take a turn as a member of the ruling council. Only male Athenians were allowed citizen rights. city-state Ancient Greek cities had their own governments, laws and armies. The city and the land it controlled around it made up the city-state. colony (colonies) An overseas settlement. The Greeks set up colonies around the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. column A tall cylinder-shaped support for the roof or doorway to a building. There were three styles of columns in Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. comedy (comedies) A play written to make the audience laugh. In the Greek theatre comedies poked fun at the foolishness of people and especially politicians. Corinth [COH-rinth] A city-state in southern Greece, famous for its pottery and overland ship-track. Someone or something from Corinth is known as Corinthian. crest Raised decoration on a soldier's helmet, like a ridge. On Greek helmets, the crest was made of stiff horsehair.

death penalty Punishment for a serious crime, such as murder. The person found guilty was executed (killed). Delphi [DEL-fee] A city to the west of Athens, withthe famous Oracle of Delphi. People went to consult the Oracle for advice from the gods. democracy A system of government in which citizens can vote to decide things. Athens had democracy from 510 BC. discus Flat dish-shaped object thrown by an athlete, a bit like a Frisbee only smaller and heavier. E to G ferryman A boatman who takes people across a river or lake in a boat called a ferry. diphtheria Decoration around the top of a wall or building. gorgon Monsters with wings and hair made of snakes. The gorgon Medusa could turn people to stone. factory Building with machines for producing goods in large numbers. factory commission A group of men who travelled around Britain to investigate the working conditions of children in both factories and mines. fire grate The metal part of a fire and fireplace. globe A map of the world drawn on a sphere, useful in geography lessons. governess A woman who taught rich girls and young boys in their homes, as a paid, live-in servant.

grammar school Boys' schools, started in the Middle Ages as an alternative to Church schools and giving free education to some boys. H to L A slave who worked for a Spartan master. historian Someone who writes about, and studies, the past, especially from writings left by earlier people. hoplite [HOP-light] A Greek foot soldier. Hoplites carried round shields and long spears and had bronze helmets and leg guards. Homer Said to be the author of the two long poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey, but nothing is really known about him. isthmus Narrow strip of land with sea either side. javelin A long spear for throwing. jury In a law court, the people who listen to evidence and decide whether an accused person is guilty or not. kiln Oven heated by wood, charcoal or some other burning fuel for 'firing' (heating and hardening) clay pots. M to O State in the north of Greece, birthplace of Alexander the Great. Marathon Battle between the Greeks and Persians. mosaic Picture-decoration made from small coloured tiles. Olympic Games A religious festival held in honour of Zeus, attended by people from all over Greece.

oracle A religious custom where people asked the Oracle questions or sought advice. The Oracle was supposed to give the answers of the gods. P to S [pan-KRAT-ion] A type of wrestling with almost no rules; one of the Olympic events. Parthenon [PARTH-en-on] A huge temple on top of the Acropolis hill in Athens. Pericles [PER-i-kleez] A popular leader of Athens from 458 - 429 BC. Pericles was famous for his stirring public speeches. Persia An empire to the east of Greece, ruled by kings. Persia tried to invade Greece. Ancient Persia is modern Iran. phalanx Greek fighting formation, made up of ranks of foot soldiers. philosopher A person who thinks and writes about the meaning of life and how people live. pirate Sea robber. There were many pirate ships in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas at the time of the Ancient Greeks. Plato Lived from about 428 to 348, he was a philosopher and teacher in Athens. politician Person active in politics - the business of governing a city or country.

pottery Useful containers such as bowls, dishes, plates and mugs made from soft clay that is baked hard in an oven called a kiln. ram In warfare, a pointed weapon for battering holes in walls or ships. Greek warships had rams fixed to their front ends or prows. Roman Roman means "of Rome" or a person from Rome. The Ancient Romans conquered Greece around 146 BC, but admired and copied Greek civilization. sacrifice A gift made to the gods. For example, pieces of meat could be burned on an altar as a sacrifice. scholar Someone who studies - and often writes books too. sculptor Artist who makes statues and other works of art from stone, wood or metal. Scythia Ancient kingdom, north of the Black Sea in a region now inside Ukraine and Russia. slave A person with no freedom, owned by someone else. shield Large piece of wood, leather and metal held in front of a soldier's body to protect him in battle. Most Greek shields were round. Socrates [SOK-rat-TEES] Lived from about 470 to 399.

A philosopher and friend of Plato, he was famous for asking questions, but was forced to kill himself because Athens' rulers feared his teachings. Sophocles [SOF-o-kleez] A writer of plays who died in 406 BC. He was also a general, in the army of Pericles. Sophocles wrote tragedies. Sparta [SPAR-ta] A city-state in southern Greece. The Spartans were famous for their strict military training and powerful army. T to Z temple A building used for religious worship and ceremonies. The Greeks put statues of gods and goddesses inside their temples. tomb The burial place for a dead person. Ancient people often put food, pottery, weapons and other possessions in a person's tomb. tragedy In theatre, a play with a sad or serious ending, and a moral lesson or teaching. trireme [TRY-reem] A Greek warship with three banks or rows of oars. Troy City in what is now Turkey, in which people called Trojans lived. They fought a 10-year war with the Greeks. tunic Typical clothing of Greek men and boys, a loose-fitting garment like a long shirt with short sleeves.

Xerxes [Zerksees] King of Persia. Son of Darius. Led the Persian army at the Battle of Salamis. Zeus [zz YOOS] The king of the gods. Zeus was the most powerful of the ancient Greek gods. Ancient War Ship Types - Biremes and Triremes - Human Powered Ships of the Phoenicians and Romans Image Credits : Bireme model at Britannica ( ) slide 2 of 5 Brief History The usage of bireme dates back to 250-400 BC when they were used for the first time as warships. Biremes at that time measured only a few meters in length but were tough and powerful. The salient feature of bireme, whether big of small, was the large square sail, which helped in its propulsion. Bireme was also used extensively by the Greeks during the famous Trojan War. Technically, both Bireme and Trireme evolved from a type of ship known as the unireme. Unireme, as the name suggests, had only one row of oars located on either sides of the ship.

The design and construction of these boats were similar to that of the Bireme and Trireme, but were smaller in size and a bit heavier as well. Unireme even had small rams known as the embolon attached to its keel. slide 3 of 5 Bireme Constructional Details Biremes were basically war ships with broad bottoms and shallow draft. Two sets of oars on either side of the ship was the main mode of propulsion, though the huge square sail also assisted in the same. The number of oars per ship ranged between 30-50, each measuring up to 4-6 meter in length. Biremes were made with outriggers that allowed them to have two rows of oarsmen one above the other. The design was such that the upper row was more outside than the lower row, which allowed the oarsmen to row without interference from the oars of fellow oarsmen. The positions of oarsmen, one top of the other, were also designed in an alternate manner so as to avoid any kind of hindrance. The fulcrums of the oars were fixed to the rails of the ship and helped in a smooth rowing process.

Some of the biremes had as many as a hundred oarsmen arranged on a single ship. The oarsmen were given special training to row in a synchronized manner on the ship. slide 4 of 5 Triremes Later on biremes were modified to make triremes, which was a kind of upgraded version, much lighter in weight and having less cargo carrying capacity. Both biremes and triremes were oar-powered ships. However, the trireme was known for its extraordinary speed. They also had a narrow hull and an outrigger which was wider than that of the biremes. Some of the triremes had great propulsive power, which was a result of around 170 oarsmen arranged in three tiers along the sides of the vessel. Everything about the trireme was light weight. The hull was made thin, and so were the keel and transverse. This enabled triremes to attain a speed of seven knots just with the sail and nine knots along with the oars. As triremes were made mainly as war ships, their construction included a bronze ram that extended from the keel below the water line. The ram was used to pierce the hulls of enemy warships.

Apart from this, triremes also had bowmen and spearmen on board in case they were attacked. Triremes were supposed to be the most advanced ships using naval technology at that time. Speed and mobility were the forte for triremes and for this reason they were built low to the ground, to ensure that the oarsmen reached the water easily with their oars. The lowest row of oarsmen was just 18 inches above the water line. As a result, many researchers believed that the triremes were not meant for open seas mainly because of their reduced weight. In case they were used for open seas, the rowing port holes were protected with leather bags to prevent sea water from coming inside the ship, especially during rough seas. Moreover, as most of the space on board was occupied by the three rows of oarsmen, triremes had less space for the storage of food and cargo. This was also one of the reasons it was used mainly for shorter voyages. Image Credits : Trireme at Allempires Website ( slide 5 of 5

Question: How many banks of oars did an ancient 'Quinquereme' have?
Answer: FIVE